Box Score Glendale, AZ- In a game that featured nine lead changes and six ties and came down to the last second, No. 10 Arizona Christian was just held off by No. 22 Westmont on Saturday afternoon. Senior O'Shae Williams earned a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Al Burge added 17 points.
- Game score: Westmont - 70, Arizona Christian - 69
- Records: Arizona Christian - 6-3, 0-2 GSAC, Westmont - 10-0, 2-0 GSAC
- NAIA Top 25 ranking: Arizona Christian - 10, Westmont - 22
- Location: ACU Events Center, Arizona Christian University, Glendale, AZ
- O'Shae Williams - 17 points, 11 rebounds
- Al Burge - 17 points
- Robby Wilson - 9 points
- Kenny Sutton - 9 points on 3-5 shooting
- ACU opened with a pair of threes from Williams and Wilson
- WC answered with a 7-0 run and the back and forth game was on
- Down 32-27 with four minutes to play in the first half, ACU used a 12-3 run to take a 39-35 lead to the locker room
- The Firestorm went up six before the Warriors countered with a 16-0 run to move ahead 51-41
- KeyVaughn Williams hit a pair of free throws to bring ACU back to 68-68 tie
- Following a WC basket and ACU free throw, the Firestorm just missed on a couple chances in the closing seconds
- Both teams shot 41% from the field
Thoughts from Coach Rutter
"Tough loss. The guys did a nice job executing some things at the end but unfortunately we didn't convert. Our bench was a bright spot tonight. KeyVaughn, Al, Kenny, and Isaiah did a nice job pressuring the ball and creating some offense for us. It was the best we had going and got us back in the game."
"Once again, we probably lost the game on the glass. For whatever reason, we have not crashed and blocking out is not something we've committed to doing and it burned us at some key moments. That's on me. I have not done a great job enforcing a tough, smart, unselfish culture. We have a few weeks to try to make these things a habit and I have a feeling if there is buy-in, we will start enjoying the results a bit more."
Up Next
The Firestorm will head to SAGU American Indian in Phoenix on Thursday for a game at 7:00 pm.
